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There have been quite a few articles posted over the last 24 hours so I may have missed seeing this one as I was scrolling through. Sorry if it's a re-post.

Cab Driver Says He Wanted Explosives For Jewel Prospecting

POSTED: 1:43 PM EST January 24, 2004

NEW YORK -- A cab driver from Afghanistan who was jailed after he asked how to make a bomb said he wanted explosives in order to blast for jewels in his home country -- not to carry out a terrorist attack.

But Sayed Abdul Malike, 43, pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to FBI agents in Brooklyn federal court, saying he had lied in May when he claimed not to have sought the explosives in the first place.

Malike was a "sadly misunderstood, very depressed individual who was just trying to find a way to better support (his) family," one of his attorneys, Alan Gardner, told the New York Times for Saturday editions.

Yet prosecutors said Malike's story didn't explain other suspicious acts reported to the FBI about him beginning in March, when a Queens store owner said he had asked for information on how to build a bomb. Malike also allegedly wanted to buy bulletproof vests, night vision goggles and Valium.

Later that month, Malike traveled to Miami, where a tourist boat captain reported that he asked about the infrastructure of bridges and how close boats could get to them.

Malike was ordered held without bail in May by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Friesen, who said his actions had "no readily apparent innocent explanation," and indicated instead that he might "be a terrorist or have delusions of undertaking terrorist-type activities."

Malike, who has been in jail since May, is scheduled to be sentenced this spring.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/2790708/detail.html

re post no. 14980...

The article is news to me.
I haven't seen it before.
Thank you.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/2790708/detail.html

"Cab Driver Says He Wanted Explosives For Jewel Prospecting"

POSTED: 1:43 PM EST January 24, 2004
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "NEW YORK -- A cab driver from Afghanistan who was jailed after he asked how to make a bomb said he wanted explosives in order to blast for jewels in his home country -- not to carry out a terrorist attack.

But Sayed Abdul Malike, 43, pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to FBI agents in Brooklyn federal court, saying he had lied in May when he claimed not to have sought the explosives in the first place.

Malike was a "sadly misunderstood, very depressed individual who was just trying to find a way to better support (his) family," one of his attorneys, Alan Gardner, told the New York Times for Saturday editions.

Yet prosecutors said Malike's story didn't explain other suspicious acts reported to the FBI about him beginning in March, when a Queens store owner said he had asked for information on how to build a bomb. Malike also allegedly wanted to buy bulletproof vests, night vision goggles and Valium.

Later that month, Malike traveled to Miami, where a tourist boat captain reported that he asked about the infrastructure of bridges and how close boats could get to them."